What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. (James 2:14-26, NRSVue)
Martin Luther did not like the book of James and wanted to remove it from the canon. Probably because of this passage in my humble opinion. “Surely that faith cannot save, can it?” Yes. Yes faith can save, but that faith? Well…
You see, the faith the author of James is talking about is the faith we see today in representatives and Christian Nationalists. Faith that says we believe in and follow Jesus but ignore those in need and look over the ones who need help. Those who do not help or lend a hand, but just say, “I’ll pray for you.” Platitudes do not support faith.
The author of James declares that faith without works is not a viable faith. Faith that does not produce action is not real faith but lip service.
Even our beloved Ephesians verse, for Lutherans, Ephesians 2:8-10 has something to say about this. Usually we stop before we get to 10, but we need to hear that. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” We are saved by grace through faith, not from what we do- works- so it is not our doing. That is where we usually stop, but we need verse 10 in there too: “10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.” God created us and saved us for good works. God prepared the things we need to do before we were created.
So the author of James is right we have to do works, but that is not what gets us in God’s good graces.
We are saved for works.
We are graced, to grace.
We are saved by faith through grace to be a fountain of hope in the world by giving God’s love away.
